Housing for Receiving a component which can be connected to the housing in a pluggable manner

ABSTRACT

The invention pertains to housing for receiving a component which can be connected to the housing in a pluggable manner, in particular an optoelectronic transceiver, the housing having at least one pressing spring, which is deflected when the component is inserted. According to the invention it is provided that the at least one pressing spring ( 71, 72 ) tapers in its width in the direction of the interior of the housing. It is preferably of a trapezoidal design. Higher spring forces can be realized with it and it is ensured that a component which is plugged into the housing can be removed from the housing in a safe and reliable manner during unlocking of the housing.

[0001] The invention relates to a housing for receiving a componentwhich can be connected to the housing in a pluggable manner, inparticular an optoelectronic transceiver, according to theprecharacterizing clause of claim 1.

[0002] It is known to arrange optoelectronic transceivers on aprinted-circuit board and connect them to an optical network by means ofoptical plug-in connectors. Known in particular are so-calledsmall-form-factor-pluggable (SFP) transceivers of a small type, whichare of a pluggable design (so-called “detachable transceivers”) and canbe plugged into a receptacle of a housing mounted onto theprinted-circuit board.

[0003] A corresponding housing 1 is represented in FIG. 5. The housingcomprises an upper part (top cage) 22 and a lower part (bottom cage) 21,which can be connected to each other in an engageable manner and form areceiving housing into which a transceiver can be plugged or from whicha transceiver can be unplugged in the direction of the double-headedarrow A-B. At the same time, the housing 1 preferably serves as ashielding plate for the electromechanical shielding of the pluggabletransceiver.

[0004] The lower part 21 of the housing is fastened on a printed-circuitboard 3. Both parts of the housing 21, 22 protrude through a cutout in ametallic rear wall (not represented), which is electrically connected tothe housing via contact springs 11. Also mounted within the housing anddirectly on the printed-circuit board 3 is an electrical plug 4, bymeans of which the plugged-in transceiver can be connected to theprinted-circuit board 3 and into which the transceiver is insertedduring plugging into the housing 1.

[0005] During plugging of a transceiver into the housing 1, rectangularpressing springs 51, 52 formed in the region of the rear end face of thelower part 2 of the housing are prestressed. Locking of the transceiverin the housing takes place by means of a locking clip 6, which is formedin the front region of the lower part 2 of the housing and into which alocking lug of the transceiver can engage. During unlocking of thetransceiver by pressing down of the resiliently formed fastening clip 6,the transceiver is pressed out of the housing 1 by the prestressedpressing springs 51, 52. The rectangular ejecting springs 51, 52 arerepresented in front view in FIG. 6.

[0006] A disadvantage of the known housing is that the spring forcesachieved by stressing of the pressing springs 51, 52 are not adequate toensure in a dependable way that the transceiver is pressed out of thehousing 1 when it is unlocked. In particular, the transceiver is pressedonly a small distance out of the housing on account of frictional forcesbetween the housing and the transceiver during unlocking.

[0007] The present invention is based on the object of providing ahousing for receiving a component which can be connected to the housingin a pluggable manner which ensures that the component is dependably andreliably pressed out of the housing when it is unlocked.

[0008] This object is achieved according to the invention by a housingwith the features of claim 1. Preferred and advantageous developments ofthe invention are specified in the subclaims.

[0009] Accordingly, it is provided according to the invention that atleast one pressing spring of the housing is designed in such a way thatit tapers in its width in the direction of the interior of the housing.A spring form of this type has the advantage that higher spring forcescan be realized with it: the restoring force or spring force is greaterthan in the case of a rectangular design of the pressing spring known inthe prior art. This results from a more uniform bending stress of thespring material which accompanies the reduction in the width of thespring in the direction of the interior of the housing. In particular,the tapering spring bends in a form approximating that of a circle,while a rectangular spring bends in the form of a parabola. However,circular bending entails a higher amount of spring work and energystorage.

[0010] A further advantage of using a spring tapering in its width isthat less space is taken up by the spring inside the housing. One resultof this is the possibility of extending the length of the spring in thedirection of the interior of the housing, allowing for example the endof the spring to protrude beyond an electrical plug arranged in thehousing. By extending the length of the spring, higher spring forces canalso be realized. Another result is the possibility of making anelectrical plug arranged in the housing or other components arranged inthe housing larger and consequently easier to handle.

[0011] In a preferred development of the invention, the pressing springis of a trapezoidal design. The two parallel sides of the pressingspring in this case run parallel to the lateral walls of the housing. Onaccount of the tapering of the pressing spring in the direction of theinterior of the housing, the parallel side running in the interior ofthe housing has a smaller width than the side running along the wall ofthe housing. A trapezoidal design of the spring has the advantage thatit is simple to produce, since the corresponding edges of the metalplate can be worked in straight lines.

[0012] It is likewise within the scope of the invention for the pressingspring to be of a triangular or else parabolic design. In the case of atriangular design, it is preferred to provide the form of an isoscelestriangle, the base of which runs along the wall of the housing and thecorner of which, formed by the equal sides, lies in the interior of thehousing. Similarly, in the case of a parabolic design of the pressingspring, the inflection point of the parabola lies in the interior of thehousing.

[0013] In the preferred embodiment, the pressing spring is designed as arear continuation of the plate of the housing, with respect to theplugging-in direction of the component, bent around by more than 90°into the interior of the housing. This is a simple way of providing anintegral design of the spring with the housing which can be easilyproduced.

[0014] The housing is preferably designed in such a way that it has anupper part and a lower part, which can be connected to theprinted-circuit board. The pressing spring is in this case preferablyarticulated on the lower part.

[0015] Preferably, two pressing springs are articulated on theright-hand and left-hand walls of the housing in a symmetricalarrangement, to be precise in each case in the upper region of the wallof the housing. This ensures that the pressing springs are freelyaccessible and are not concealed by other components arranged in thehousing, such as a plug connected to the printed-circuit board.

[0016] The legs of the pressing spring articulated on the housingpreferably terminate flush with the upper edge of the housing. Thisprovides a maximum size of the spring toward the upper edge of thehousing.

[0017] The invention is explained in more detail below on the basis ofseveral exemplary embodiments with reference to the figures of thedrawing, in which:

[0018]FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a lower part of the housingaccording to the invention;

[0019]FIG. 2 shows a front view of the housing of FIG. 1;

[0020]FIG. 3 shows a first alternative design of a pressing springaccording to the invention;

[0021]FIG. 4 shows a second alternative design of a pressing springaccording to the invention;

[0022]FIG. 5 shows a perspective representation of a housing known inthe prior art and

[0023]FIG. 6 shows a front view of the housing of FIG. 5.

[0024] The housing according to the prior art was explained at thebeginning on the basis of FIGS. 5 and 6.

[0025]FIG. 1 shows the lower part 21 of a housing according to theinvention, which can be connected to an upper part of the housingaccording to FIG. 5 by means of locking clips 21 a. Downwardlyprotruding fastening pins 21 b serve for fastening the housing on aprinted-circuit board (not represented). The bottom of the lower part 21of the housing has in the rear region a clearance 8, in which anelectrical plug corresponding to the plug 4 of FIG. 5 is fastened on theprinted-circuit board.

[0026] In the front region of the lower part 21 there is formed, inturn, a locking clip 6, which serves for the locking of a transceiverplugged into the housing.

[0027] The housing according to FIGS. 1, 2 differs from the knownhousing of FIG. 5 essentially by the design of the pressing or ejectingsprings. For instance, formed onto the rear edge 21 c of the lateralwalls 211, 212 of the housing are two pressing springs 71, 72 which havea trapezoidal form. This can be seen in particular in the front view ofFIG. 2. In this case, according to FIG. 2, each pressing spring 71, 72has essentially parallel sides 71 a, 71 b and 72 a, 72 b, respectively,of which the longer side is in each case articulated on the lateral wall211, 212 of the housing. The two other sides 71 c, 71 d and 72 c, 72 d,respectively, do not run parallel, the upper side 71 c, 72 c terminatingflush with the upper side of the lateral wall 211, 212 of the housingand extending in the transverse direction at right angles with respectto said wall.

[0028] The width of the pressing springs 71, 72, reducing in thedirection of the interior of the housing, is represented in FIG. 2 inthe case of one pressing spring 72 by way of example by two widths B1,B2.

[0029] The trapezoidal ejecting springs 71, 72 are integrally formedwith the wall 21 of the housing and designed as continuations of thewall of the housing which are bent around by more than 90° into theinterior of the housing to produce a spring effect.

[0030] A transceiver is pushed in the direction A into the lower part 21of the housing or the pushing-in opening into the housing formed by theupper part of the housing and the lower part of the housing. The frontedges of the transceiver thereby come into contact with the lateraledges 71 a, 72 a of the pressing springs 71, 72 and press them awaytoward the rear, thereby creating a prestressing effect. After lockingof the transceiver by means of the locking clip 6, the transceiver islocked in the housing under prestress.

[0031] When the locking clip 6 is actuated, the pressing springs 71, 72are relieved and they press the transceiver out of the housing.

[0032] Given the same plate thickness and the same leg height, therestoring force or ejecting force provided by the restoring springs 71,72 is in this case greater in the region of the wall 21 of the housingthan when the rectangular pressing springs are used. This is to do withthe fact that there is an approximately equal bending stress of thespring material in every cross section of the spring on account of thedecreasing width of the springs in the direction of the interior of thehousing.

[0033] The housing and the pressing springs preferably consist of ametallic material, in particular of metal plate. In applications inwhich an electromagnetic shielding of the component inserted into thehousing is not required or is provided by other structures, the use of anon-metallic material is also conceivable however. It is alsoconceivable, for example, to produce the housing from plastic and toform metallic restoring springs on it.

[0034] An alternative configuration of a pressing spring according tothe invention is represented in FIG. 3. According to this, the pressingspring 73 is of a triangular design, one corner 73 a protruding into theinterior of the housing.

[0035] In FIG. 4, the pressing spring 74 is of a parabolic design, theinflection point 74 a lying in the interior of the housing. Theinvention is not restricted in its execution to the exemplaryembodiments represented. All that is essential for the invention is thatat least one pressing spring which tapers in its width in the directionof the interior of the housing and serves for the resilient reception ofa component is provided in the interior of the housing.

1. A housing for receiving a component which can be connected to thehousing in a pluggable manner, in particular an optoelectronictransceiver, the housing having at least one pressing spring, which isdeflected when the component is inserted, characterized in that the atleast one pressing spring (71, 72, 73, 74) tapers in its width (B1, B2)in the direction of the interior of the housing.
 2. The housing asclaimed in claim 1, characterized in that the pressing spring (71, 72)is of a trapezoidal design.
 3. The housing as claimed in claim 2,characterized in that the two parallel sides (71 a, 71 b; 72 a, 72 b) ofthe pressing spring (71, 72) run parallel to the side walls (211, 212)of the housing.
 4. The housing as claimed in claim 1, characterized inthat the pressing spring (73, 74) is of a triangular or parabolicdesign.
 5. The housing as claimed in at least one of the precedingclaims, characterized in that the pressing spring (71, 72, 73, 74) isdesigned as a rear continuation of the housing (21), with respect to theplugging-in direction of the component, bent around by more than 90 intothe interior of the housing.
 6. The housing as claimed in claim 5,characterized in that the continuation is formed integrally with thehousing.
 7. The housing as claimed in at least one of the precedingclaims, characterized in that the housing has an upper part (22) and alower part (21), which can be connected to a printed-circuit board (3),the pressing spring (71, 72, 73, 74) being articulated on the lower part(21).
 8. The housing as claimed in at least one of the preceding claims,characterized in that two pressing springs (71, 72), which arearticulated on the right-hand and left-hand walls of the housing, areprovided.
 9. The housing as claimed in claim 8, characterized in thatthe pressing springs (71, 72) are articulated in the upper region of thewall (211, 212) of the housing.
 10. The housing as claimed in claim 9,characterized in that the leg (71 b, 72 b) of the pressing spring (71,72) articulated on the housing in each case terminates flush with theupper edge of the housing.